<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Don’t burn the house down by Zoya113</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25067368">Don’t burn the house down</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoya113/pseuds/Zoya113'>Zoya113</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, slice of life??</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:07:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,449</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25067368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoya113/pseuds/Zoya113</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Paul has to go away for one day and leaves Emma with one rule: don’t burn the house down</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Emma Perkins &amp; Henry Hidgens, Emma Perkins &amp; Melissa, Paul Matthews/ Emma Perkins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Don’t burn the house down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Clearing out more old drafts so this one is a bit uninspired lmao</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I miss you.”  </p><p>“I know, Paul. I miss you too. But I’ll be able to take care of myself while you’re away,” Emma promised, laying back on the couch and fiddling with her headphones. “I love you.”</p><p>“You will?” Paul sounded anxious. “You can call me if you need anything. The reception is kinda bad here but I’ll try and be there!”</p><p>“I’m a whole ass adult and secondly say it back asshole,” Emma set her phone on speaker so Melissa could hear.</p><p>“I love you too but I just want to know you’ll be okay!” </p><p>“You’re only gone for one day,” Emma snorted. “Have fun on your little boys weekend, say happy birthday to Bill for me.” </p><p>“It’s not a boys weekend, Charlotte’s coming too! It’s just a nice thing to do for Bill’s birthday, he’s taking us all up on a hiking trip,” Paul explained. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”</p><p>“Perfect birthday plan for the IT Crowd over there,” Emma snorted. “Have some fun for me babe. I’m gonna get some study done today but I have a shift in the morning so I probably won’t be here when you get home.” </p><p>“If you weren’t so busy you totally could’ve come, Bill thinks you’re really cool,” he chuckled.</p><p>Emma grinned, “I appreciate that. Try and have a good weekend man, I’ll text you.” </p><p>“Just don’t burn the house down okay? <br/>Love you, Em. I’ll see you later.” Paul hung up before Emma could keep him on the phone any longer. </p><p>Melissa, who was sitting on the other end of the couch smirked. “You heard him, Em. Better not burn down the house.” </p><p>“I’m not gonna burn down the house!” Emma huffed. “You two have no faith in me. What sort of stuff does he say about me at work?” </p><p>Melissa swung her legs up on the couch over Emma’s legs. “You don’t wanna know.” </p><p>“Really!” She tossed her phone at Melissa teasingly.</p><p>“Bad move,” Melissa tucked Emma’s phone into her pocket. “Mine now. Do you wanna know?” </p><p>“No, fine. Keep your secrets, but give my phone back, Melissa. What do you want to do for lunch?” She stared up at the roof in thought, one hand outstretched to get her phone back.</p><p>“Do you wanna cook something?” She asked, taking photos on Emma’s phone instead, posing very lazily for a selfie with her head laid back on a pillow but her fingers up in a bored peace sign. </p><p>Emma lifted up her head. “Can you cook?” </p><p>“Nothing good, can you?” Melissa raised an eyebrow. </p><p>Emma snickered. “Pffft, nope. Wanna have a go anyways?” She stood up with a grin. Paul wasn’t here to tell her off for making a mess in the kitchen. “We’ve got some shit in the kitchen.”</p><p>They pulled out what they believed to be the most generic ingredients, eggs, flour, milk, still unsettled on what they were actually going to make. </p><p>“Have you got vegetable oil?” </p><p>“What for?”</p><p>“You use it in pans.” </p><p>Emma clenched her teeth. “Wait, really? I thought it was seasoning. I thought you could use it on top.”</p><p>They stared at each other briefly, waiting for someone to insert some more knowledge into the conversation. “Let me ask Hidgens.” </p><p>“Just google it,” Melissa shook her head. </p><p>“No, just hold on, this’ll be quicker,” she rang his number, and he answered on the second ring. ‘See?’ She mouthed to Melissa. “Hey Hidgens, quick question?”</p><p>“You’re quick to the point dear, what’s happening? Is everything okay?”</p><p>“What do you use vegetable oil for?” </p><p>There was silence on the other end. “It’s for pan frying, dear, why?” </p><p>“Called it!” Melissa clapped.</p><p>“Perhaps I should come over and help,” Hidgens suggested. “Are you making something?”</p><p>Emma hummed in consideration but Melissa shook her head. “Nah, Hidgens. You’re good. We’ll work it out on our own! We’ve baked before!” </p><p>There was more hesitance on the other end. “Well, perhaps I’ll just drop by when I’m on my way past okay? I have to collect some files from my office so I’m leaving the house anyways.” She could hear his keys jingling. </p><p>And of course she didn’t mind his company at all, so she had no problems with it. “Yeah we’ll see you then! You can have some of-“ she paused, glancing at her ingredients, “our lunch! It’ll be good, Hidgens!” </p><p>Hidgens let out an uncertain laugh between his goodbye’s. “I’m sure it will Emma. Alright, dear. I’ll see you then. Don’t set anything on fire.”</p><p>She hung up, scoffing. “Why does everyone think I’m going to set things on fire? Did you hear that?”</p><p>Melissa tapped a finger to her lips. “You know, I’m just looking at these ingredients. We don’t even need vegetable oil. We’re baking. We’re making cookies.” </p><p>“What? I thought we were gonna do cupcakes,” she pointed at the tray she had gotten out. She kinda wanted cupcakes now. </p><p>Melissa blinked, her eyes flitting around the kitchen. “We need liners. Those patty liner things. Want me to run down to the shop and pick them up?” She patted down her pockets for her keys. </p><p>“Or alternatively, we go afterwards and just buy them store bought. We’re adults. We can buy whatever the hell we want.”</p><p>“Facts,” Melissa dipped her head in consideration. “One time I bought myself a whole cake on an impulse and I hated it!”</p><p>“Hey, with great power,” Emma shrugged, leaving Melissa to finish the saying off in her own head, still playing with her phone. “Let’s jus make cookies then, I guess,” she compromised. </p><p>“Oh I should’ve brought my cookie cutters!” Melissa sighed as she started prepping the measuring cups. “Cookies are only fun when they’re in fun shapes. Otherwise they’re kinda gross you know?” </p><p>Emma pulled out a piping bag from the top of the cupboard. “Let’s ice them then. Who’s gonna stop us? Society?” </p><p>Melissa let out a coo of delight, turning on the kitchen radio that was always just a little too high up for Emma to reach for some music. “That sounds disgusting but I really wanna do it.” </p><p>Baking was easy, but it was just always something Emma wasn’t a fan of. It was annoying to have to clean up after the ten bowls and spoons and measuring cups each recipe required. It was comedic how many times they required a new spoon or mixing bowl, and it reminded Emma why she preferred to be out of the kitchen. Plus, Melissa was refusing to help with any of the measuring math. When they decided to half the ingredients and therefor the numbers, she had totally refused to help and Emma was finding it very hard to use her phone’s calculator with flour all over her hands. </p><p>The dough they had come out with was a little tough too and wasn’t smoothing out, no matter how much Melissa mixed it. “My arm is getting tired,” she reported. She was really leaning into it too, both of her shoes pressed into the floor to get some traction. “I think we’ve done it wrong. Maybe we messed up the math.” </p><p>“We?” Emma shook her head. “You did not help at all. Let me try, I’ll fix it. You just aren’t doing it right,” she offered, taking the wooden spoon as Melissa dropped her hands down to her sides with a sigh of relief.</p><p>“Maybe we put too much honey in it,” Melissa suggested, wiping her hands down on the apron Paul usually used. </p><p>It was noticeably tough, though. It was clumping up instead of smoothing out. Emma didn’t think that was supposed to happen, but they had decided to make honey cookies and perhaps they came out differently. She had never made them before.  “We’ve been mixing for like ten minutes. I say we just ball them up now and put them in the oven,” she shrugged. How wrong could it go anyways? The ingredients were all there. </p><p>Melissa let out a laugh as she watched Emma scoop out a handful. “It’s sticky,” she sounded quite instantly regretful, and she hadn’t even touched it. “There’s honey in it, Emma.” </p><p>“Oh yeah,” she tried to drop it to the table but it kind of just rolled off her hand instead. “I was not expecting that. I’ll get a spatula or something.”</p><p>“No more spoons,” Melissa pretended to growl. “I have had it with the spoons,” but Emma was kind of over the spoon joke, so when she didn’t laugh hard enough Melissa just changed topics. “Why are you taking it out with your hands?” Melissa asked over her shoulder as Emma hurried off to grab some paper towel and search for a plastic spatula or yet another new spoon to scoop it out with. She didn’t really know what went on with Paul and his baking, or where he kept everything. Maybe if he didn’t keep the kitchen so orderly he wouldn’t have to worry about Emma burning the house down!</p><p>“Because I washed them and I am not permanently covered in cat fur like you. Who even let you into the kitchen?” She rifled through the bottom draw in her search, holding up her sticky hand so she didn’t get honey over everything.</p><p>Melissa scoffed, clearing her throat. “I regret to inform you I am withdrawing my business from Beanies effective immediately and am going home right now,” she clapped her hands, pretending to take her apron off and storming out of the kitchen, but she only made it to the living room before she had to come back to apologise for her joke. </p><p>“Hey, your five dollar once a week tea takes nothing out of my pockets, Melissa. Your loss,” she sneered, loving the way Melissa always whined when she had nothing else to counter with. The sound of sweet victory. </p><p>“Whatever, you’d miss me anyways,” she grunted as she began to ball up the dough with the plastic spatula to put on the tray. </p><p>Emma laughed.</p><p>“What? What are you laughing at?” </p><p>She shrugged, staying silent aside from a small hum as she worked away with the dough. </p><p>“Emma, what are you laughing about? You’d miss me!” She repeated herself, halting the process with the dough to stare at her with wide eyes.</p><p>“I’m not laughing at anything, Melissa,” she smiled as she continued rolling out the dough into tiny balls, now scraping out the last of the bowl. </p><p>Melissa pursed her lips shut like she really wasn’t going to say it, but it seemed she couldn’t help herself. “Say you’d miss me! You would right!” She whined, dropping her spoon to the table considering Emma had finished the last of the dough. </p><p>“Yes, yes, haha, I would,” Emma finally caved because she was quite worried Melissa was about to swat at her if she put her through any more stress. </p><p>“Good. You scared me!” she frowned, shaping a ball of dough on the tray into the messy shape of a cat. “I’m gonna ice this one, it’s mine okay?” </p><p>Emma clicked her tongue to acknowledge she had heard, because she was busy making a bear. </p><p>“I’m gonna go wash my hands again, I’ll be back okay?”</p><p>Emma nodded. “Can you grab the door too? I think Hidgens is gonna be here in a sec, he’s just text me.” She couldn’t read the text from this angle but her phone screen had lit up on the other side of the table so she assumed it was about time anyways. </p><p>She made some more shapes from the dough, knowing very well they’d expand in the oven and get ruined anyways, but sometimes she just liked getting her hands dirty. </p><p>“Emma! He’s here!” Melissa called out along side the sound of his footsteps coming down the hall.</p><p>“Coming!” She called back, sliding the cookie tray into the oven to go meet Hidgens. </p><p>“Ah! Emma dear! All going well?” He seemed relieved that the house was still standing, she could see it in his eyes.</p><p>“Yeah! Paul always tells me not to bake, that’s on him. We even made our own shapes with the dough,” she explained, bouncing on the tips of her toes when he gave her that proud smile instead. </p><p>“You know in the oven they’ll-“</p><p>“Don’t break it to Melissa, she isn’t ready,” she cut him off with a hush. “She’s very attached to her shapes.” </p><p>Melissa crosses her arms, rolling her eyes. “I know they won’t last,” she confessed. “They’ll probably taste bad too anyways. I’m just here for the icing.” </p><p>Hidgens, not really that interested in their cooking arguments held out some papers in his hands to change the topic to something more interesting. “Emma, while I was in my office look what I found! This is your old paper from the start of the term, assessment one! We thought we lost it remember?” He hurried past the two girls to place it on the table for Emma to look at. “How about we talk about this instead?”</p><p>“Oh, ugh,” Emma winced. “This was an awful one! It was from like, a year ago! Hidgens, this is about cell level stuff!” She didn’t want to look. She was so bad back then. She wasn’t nearly as invested in getting a good grade and she didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.</p><p>“Lemme read it!” Melissa nudged past Emma to glance at it. “I wanna see if my senior year biology pulls through and I can understand it. I love jargon.” She scooped the papers back up. </p><p>“And I like it when you read it,” Emma added in. “It makes me feel better when people don’t know what all the terminology is,” she laughed. And after how bad the cookies were going she sort of wanted an ego boost. </p><p>“Oh, hello,” Melissa added, “I’m Melissa, Emma’s friend,” she held out a hand to shake.</p><p>“Well it’s lovely to meet you, dear, I’m Emma’s biology professor, you can just call me Henry. Do you like biology very much?” He shook her hand very delicately, trying to read the papers over her shoulder.</p><p>“Mmm,” she was thoughtful. “No. I’m sorry. But I’ll leave that to the experts you know? Im kinda squeamish!” </p><p>“Haha, I take no offence, I promise. It is all a bit complicated,” he assured her. “Even I think there are a lot more interesting things in this world, and out of it too!”</p><p>Emma cleated her throat to cut Hidgens off before he could ramble her friend’s ears off about stars or galaxies or aliens or even worse, musical theatre.</p><p>Melissa traced her fingers across the lines on the paper. “I know about this stuff though, electron transports, Kreb cycle stuff. We did that in my senior year.” She placed the papers down, not making it far into Emma’s shabby report.</p><p>“You know the Krebs cycle?” Emma held up a hand for silence, her brow creasing. Not the sort of ego boost she wanted.</p><p>Melissa began to play with her hair, a little anxious to be stared at. “Yeah? I mean I might need some paper but I could still work it out haha, not as good as a proper biology student though I bet!” </p><p>Hidgens chuckled at the frustrated noise escaping Emma’s lips. “Emma might beg to differ.”</p><p>Emma snatched up the papers again, balling them right up. “I do beg! You’re fucking with me, Melissa.  I’ve never gotten it, not once. I can’t even look at the grade I got. I must’ve sabotaged it on purpose.” She tossed them into the waste paper bin. “No wonder Hidgens lost it.” She no longer wanted to look at it. It was a bad distraction.</p><p>“Oh, you’re evil Emma!” Melissa giggled, “did you put the cookies in the oven?” She quickly switched back to the topic at hand now that the papers were gone. </p><p>“Yep. They’ll be about fifteen minutes.” </p><p>“Shoot! And you didn’t set a timer, did you? I’ll just go keep an eye on them!” She excused herself with a polite wave, exiting back to the kitchen. She probably didn’t care much to stick around with a stranger.</p><p>Hidgens didn’t take a seat, not even when Emma offered though. “Sorry about that old paper,” he stifled a laugh. “I thought you would’ve enjoyed it.” </p><p>“You know I wouldn’t have,” she denied it. “Not one I did bad at, ew. Couldn’t think of any better excuse to drop by, huh? You really think I’m gonna burn down my house?” She pulled out a seat of her own, encouraging him to stay. Perhaps he’d like to ice the cookies with him. It’d be a party with the three of them, even if Melissa and Hidgens had never met.</p><p>“Oh really, I won’t stay long. I just wanted to make sure you were doing fine on your own with Paul on his trip, dear,” he nodded his head, keeping his hands tucked in his jacket pockets.</p><p>She let out an amused sigh, tired of hearing about this topic. “Yes, he’s only gone over night. I’m just hanging out with a friend, can I not hang out with a friend without you and Paul alerting the president? I’m fine! No college parties happening here, promise haha.”</p><p>Hidgens gave a chuckle below his breath, one hand resting on Emma’s shoulder. “Between you and me, Paul actually sent me,” he admitted. “He just wanted me to drop by, make sure you weren’t dying.”</p><p>Emma rolled her head back. Of course he did. “He worries too much, Hidgens! Does he think I haven’t lived on my own before?” She pushed her hands into Hidgens shoulder as if to usher him out while he just chuckled. “I am not going to burn down the house Hidgens! I am not the best cook but I can make my own meals!” She grabbed her phone from her pocket, calling him right now. “I can’t believe he sent you. You’re a traitor Hidgens! I’m going to call him right now! Don’t even think about leaving.” </p><p>He held up his hands in defend. “I didn’t think you weren’t capable for a second dear. Paul is just nervous to be away from you,” he tried to soothe her anger, even if it was only just a mock fight. </p><p>“Paul!” She snapped as he picked up, ignoring Hidgens in favour of the bigger fight. “I can’t believe you,” she couldn’t help but smile though. “You really sent Hidgens to spy on me huh? Can’t trust me home alone?” </p><p>Even thought she was joking Paul was clearly still flustered. “Uh! Emma, how’d you- I’m sorry, hah, I just thought- you know, I thought you might get lonely on your own, or like. I didn’t mean to be like over protective or smothering or anything, but!” </p><p>“Oh I have some words to have with you mister! You really think I’m not capable of being on my own?” She laughed as she leant against the wall, “I’m a thirty two year old lady, Paul. And I can assure you-“</p><p>They were interrupted by a small squeal from Melissa in the kitchen. She held the phone away from her ear for a second but Hidgens signalled that he would go check it out as to not interrupt her. Emma wasn’t fussed anyways, Melissa was always a little bit loud. </p><p>“Yeah, it’s like I said, I can handle things just fine, Paul, I get you might be a little nervous to be away from me because -let’s face it- I am a total babe. But I will still be here, alive and healthy by the time you are home, you know,” she did want to comfort him, but she was still just ever so slightly ticked to the point she wasn’t going to take herself seriously. He didn’t deserve that much comfort. </p><p>“I’m really sorry Em,” Paul apologised again. “I can’t really talk, we’re out walking and I have bad signal that’s all. I wanted someone to be there if something went wrong! Better to be safe than sorry right?” He tried hopefully, even now his voice was dropping in and out, she had to make out most of what he was saying on her own. </p><p>“Ah, I guess,” she chewed on her lip. “If anything goes wrong you know I know how to call the right numbers anyways, Hah. I know you want to think you’re a knight in shining armour but I think that’s actually my job.”</p><p>“Hey!” He groaned. “It’s not that! I- you know, it’s not important. I just want to know if everything is okay?” </p><p>“Yeah, yeah, babe, everything’s okay,” she waved a hand to brush it off, curling a lock of hair around her finger tip. </p><p>“Hey!?” Melissa appeared in the kitchen walk way all of a sudden, looking just a little too breathless for the walk here. “Your kitchen’s on fire.” She bit down on her lip, eyes wide to wait on Emma’s command. </p><p>Emma dropped her phone to her chest for a second. Jaw hanging slack. “Yeah everything’s fine babe! Can I call you back? Bye!” She dropped her phone onto the table, following after Melissa and taking in a deep breath to see if she could smell any smoke. “Oh my god. We actually burnt the house down.” </p><p>Fortunately, nothing was actually on fire. But the oven had started billowing out smoke up onto the ceiling, and they were all collecting in one big, grey cloud. Hidgens was busy opening the kitchen window to reclaim the fresh air. </p><p>“What happened! They’ve been in the oven for like, five minutes!” Emma gasped, grabbing a hand towel to take the tray out.</p><p>“Get a cooling rack, Emma. You’ll burn the table,” Hidgens tried to advise, although he was coughing on the smoke. </p><p>She didn’t have that sort of time, and dumped it down on top of the stove instead. “What!” They had only been in the oven for so long, but they were all charred and smoking, completely ruined. Even if they hadn’t been, most of them had expanded too much and became part of one big cookie hivemind. </p><p>“Maybe your oven was too hot, Emma, maybe the dough wasn’t right. It’s okay, that happens,” Hidgens flicked on the stove fan. </p><p>“At least the house didn’t burn down,” Melissa started of with a joke before she saw what had happened to the tray. “Uh, no!” She let out a surprised gasp and a long whine. “The cookies!” </p><p>Emma laughed, wiping her eyes of the smoke in the room before they could water. “I told you she wasn’t ready to handle the truth.”</p><p>“Mister cat,” she groaned, prodding at the burnt cookie with the spatula on the table. “He’s all gone. He’s become one with the dough!”</p><p>“I think that was my bear, actually,” Emma wasn’t as upset about it. More just curious about what on earth happened with the oven. ”it’s all just dough now, baby.” </p><p>“Oh girls. I’m sorry, that’s a shame isn’t it?” He have one last cough, fanning the air in front of him with a cooking magazine he had picked up. “But isn’t it a good thing Paul sent me over, hm?” </p><p>“Oh don’t bring him into this, that’s on the oven!” Emma jumped to defend herself. “Everything was going totally fine until the oven had a god damn- temper tantrum or something, god,” she knelt down to check the oven was off, glancing inside like she expected to see something. </p><p>“Yeah, I bet the cookies would still have tasted good,” Melissa chimed in pitifully to give her a hand. </p><p>“I can still take care of myself when Paul isn’t here,” Emma stood by her point. </p><p>Hidgens picked up a cookie from the tray. One that hadn’t melded into the giant cookie anyways. </p><p>“They’d be fine if the oven cooked them right I bet!” She continued, leaning towards the window so she could breathe better.</p><p>He broke it in half, brushing the burnt part off and blowing on it. And with that, he put it in his mouth. </p><p>Melissa and Emma waited patiently for the verdict, staring at him with two sets of big eyes. She hadn’t expected him to eat it while it was still smoking.</p><p>“Emma, this tastes like shit,” he chuckled to himself, holding a hand to his mouth like he was about to spit it out again. “What are these?” </p><p>“They were honey cookies,” Melissa moaned, and Emma knew that meant Melissa had finished standing up for them. </p><p>“How about I just order you two something to eat instead? Maybe you should stay away from the oven until Paul gets back. Your oven is just slightly...” he trailed off in search of the right word. “Temperamental.” </p><p>Melissa nodded in defeat. “Yes. Perhaps we should just order lunch. That’s way tastier.”</p><p>“Ugh. I still think we killed it,” she snatched up a cookie to eat it out of spite. One of the ones that wasn’t smoking. “They aren’t that bad.”</p><p>“Oh I don’t know about that, Emma,” Melissa frowned, dissecting a cookie to show off its uncooked middle. “Maybe we just have to admit that-“</p><p>“That we still did our best and that’s all that matters!” Emma cut her off short so that the words ‘Paul was right’ had to enter the room. “Look. The house is still standing, guys.” She pointed up to the roof above her head. “So technically it did not burn down or collapse and Paul had nothing to worry about.” </p><p>Hidgens just snorted. “You’re right about that,” he had to admit. “And you’re both still alive.”</p><p>“We avoided eminent danger,” Melissa chucked one last comment into the conversation. “That’s important.” </p><p>“And that means this is between us, okay?” Emma declared. “We do not need to tell Paul a word about this.”</p><p>She could imagine how smug he would be about it too, that Hidgens had come when he had. He’d never leave her home alone again. </p><p>“Hey. I won’t say a word,” Melissa swore. “But I am not eating the evidence.” </p><p>“Ah. Betrayed again,” Emma snatched another cookie up, wincing at the bitter taste, but boy if she was not powered by spite.</p><p>Hidgens held a finger to his lips as a laugh rumbled in the back of his throat. “Well. You did your best Emma, didn’t you?” </p><p>She let out a bothered noise through her mouthful, pointing to the roof to remind them once more that she had not burned the house down.</p><p>Hidgens patted a hand to his pocket where his old phone was tucked away, his other hand crossing his heart. “Yes, Emma dear. Let’s leave Paul out of this one then, shall we?”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>